The word applies to a small college in Iowa, but to basketball fans, the word has come to mean something lodged in the space between novelty and wide-eyed thrill. It's a reference to the frenetic, high-scoring pace of play — made famous at Grinnell College — where no 3-pointer is a bad shot, and constant full-court pressure keeps the turnovers flowing.

"I like it because there's a lot of movement," Redman-Trotter said. "Not only do I get the opportunity to get in and to score or do what I want to do as a player, but I like to get my team involved.

"I didn't really know how to adjust to it. It's definitely a totally different style of play."

The Mariners, without any seniors seeing regular minutes and extremely low on experience, have resorted to the style as a means of staying competitive. When Redman-Trotter isn't at her best, it's a struggle for St. Francis to score, as evident when the squad went 5-17 last year. Redman-Trotter missed most of the season with a high ankle sprain.

But she's back, and goodness, the numbers have followed.

She had already scored 22 points and 19 rebounds in one game and 33 points with 15 in another before Saturday's win over Madison Country Day. In that battle, she finished with 37 points and 24 boards, both school records, with five steals and four assists for good measure.

The points mark was one that had existed since JQ Stewart scored 35 in 2000-01, and the rebounding record dated back to Redman-Trotter's freshman year, when she brought in 22 in a game.

"She plays point for us, stands 5-10 and is a pretty good athlete and aggressive kid," Szydlowski said. "Her strength would be getting to the basket. She's a great offensive rebounder and isn't in the traditional sense a true point guard. Her 3-point shot has really improved."

"I asked him if he ever had a record," Redman-Trotter said. "He scored 48 points in his senior year of high school, and now I have to top that. It's not just basketball; he really instills in me work ethic, academically and athletically."

Both Kiara and Kerry were in the dark about the record in the game's aftermath.

"On the buses home, they didn't even tell me," Kiara said. "I was mad that I didn't beat the record (Nov. 25 in a win over Salam School), and (the coaches) were calling me '2-Short' because I was two points short of beating it. When we got home from Madison on Saturday, someone told me I didn't hit (the record), and then 'Szyd' told me I beat it. So I was asking, 'Did I beat it or did I not?' They told me I did.

"My dad picked me up after the game, and he didn't know then, either. They announced it at the boys game afterward, and people I didn't even know were coming up to me and saying congratulations. 'I don't even know you, but thank you.' "

Her biggest challenge may be playing on a team in which she has by far the most varsity experience.

"It can get frustrating, but it doesn't really change anything about my team," she said. "It's my team; I encourage them. I want to get them involved. If I'm beating records, I still want my team overall to be good."

Up to speed

Szydlowski first employed the Grinnell style six years ago and has come back to it in recent years. There are times the format will lead to significant low scores, such as a game this season when Lake Country Lutheran kept the Mariners to 17 points.

"Part of the reason we went to it was a way to get all the kids involved and make it a positive experience," he said. "I know a conference title isn't always in our reach, but we've seen growth."

With only 17 kids in the program, many of whom split time between the JV and varsity team, Szydlowski needs to keep his group engaged.

That's a task that also partially falls to the team captain Redman-Trotter, who would ideally play a shooting guard role in college. The system calls for sweeping substitutions on a regular basis, and she's part of two of the three rotations.

"Now as we play more games and see more games in that (style), I feel like it's benefiting me," she said. "I'm in the first two rotations, and then I come out, and it gives me a second wind. I get to see the offense run with a different player at point guard, and it helps me to see what's open and what's not."